The American Chemical Society (ACS) has said that for a nation facing a looming deficit and difficult cuts to entitlements, passing H.R. 1249 and streamlining America's patent application process is one of the single-most productive steps Congress can take to improve the economy.
H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act, would establish essential changes in how patent applications are reviewed and awarded and would keep patent application fees with the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The proposed legislation is expected to come up this week in the House and is the counterpart to the Senate's S.23 America Invents Act that passed by a vote of 95-5 on March 8 of this year.
In recent decades, patent fees have been diverted from the PTO and rolled into the federal budget to pay for other shortfalls. This is seen to prevent the PTO from hiring enough examiners to review patent applications in a timely manner. On average, it takes three years for a patent application to be reviewed.
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